Instructors

Kelly McDermott, Director

Kelly has been teaching dance and choreographing performances for over 20 years. She is trained in Tap, Ballet, Jazz, Hip-hop, and Modern. After graduating from the Somerset County Gifted and Talented Dance Program with Honors, Kelly was a dance instructor for several Gotta Dance studio locations and managed a dance team that performed throughout New Jersey. In 2002, Kelly opened the The Dance Factory in Skillman, NJ. As the Artistic Director and Head Dance Instructor at The Dance Factory, Kelly directs over 700 students each year in wonderful, Broadway-style productions held at Patriots Theatre at the War Memorial in Trenton, NJ.

Kelly also has a passion for and extensive experience in the theater; her choreography credits include "Seussical", "Willy Wonka", "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", "Footloose", and "Shrek" with the Sourland Hills Actors Guild (SHAG), "All Shook Up" with the MHS Players, and "Annie Jr.", "The Music Man", "Bye, Bye Birdie", “My Son Pinocchio”, and “The Little Mermaid” with the Montgomery LMS.

Kelly believes strongly in giving back to the community. In summer 2007 she created The Dance Factory Tour Team, which includes two Summer Teams and a Holiday Team. After teaching exciting routines to her dancers, Kelly and the team travel to the VA Hospital, Senior Centers, Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Centers throughout Somerset County and Mercer County to spend time with and perform for residents. The Summer Tour Team also performs at the Somerset Patriots pre-game activities twice during the summer months.

Kelly is fiercely passionate about dance and her students. She prides herself on running a comprehensive, multi-level dance program that is fun, inclusive, and educational for each and every student.

Asha Griffith

Eclectic at heart and passionate by nature, Asha is way more than just a tap dancer, but an International performer, recording artist, and all around creative force. Asha began dancing at the age of 5 at a local dance studio in New Jersey and began studying with Olivia Rosenkrantz, Max Pollak, Ayodele Casel, & Jason Samuels Smith by the age of 12. At 16, she became an original member of the Tap City Youth Ensemble (TCYE) where she performed at notable venues including the Duke Theater, The Joyce, Symphony Space. Asha was a featured tap dancer on Mundo-em-Movimento, a Brazilian TV Series that highlighted different dance disciplines all around the world.

Her versatility has led her the opportunity to choreograph for four-time Grammy award winning jazz musician, Esperanza Spalding, and partner with some of our most beloved brands--including Pharrell Williams' Billionaire Boys Club brand and Converse. Asha also performed at the 2016 Bessie Awards in a tribute to Lifetime Achievement recipient, Brenda Bufalino. Asha is a faculty member at The American Tap Dance Foundation in NYC, tours with Apt 33, a tap company directed by Chloe Arnold and was also featured in BEATS, RHYMES, & TAP SHOES, a residency show with the Apollo Theater choreographed by Maurice Chestnut in April 2017.

Caroline Hidalgo

Caroline joined the Dance Factory staff in 2009 as Ballet Mistress. Caroline trained at the New Jersey School of Ballet from a young age and performed in numerous roles in the New Jersey Ballet Company's "Nutcracker", as well as "Cinderella". She has also performed several roles in the Ft. Worth Ballet Company's production of "Cinderella". In 1994, she was selected as one of twelve dancers in New Jersey to attend the Governor's School of the Arts. Caroline received a BFA in Dance from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.

Caroline has been teaching dance since 1995 and feels passionately about always growing as an educator and learning any new techniques or processes which can help her guide her students to their highest potentials. She is a certified "Dance Educator of America" with high honors. She is also certified to teach the Vaganova (Russian) method of ballet.

Sloane Horton

Sloane started her training at the age of 7 at Kay's Act II Dance Studio in Trevose, Pennsylvania. She has studied styles including ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop and modern under world renowned choreographers including Marinda Davis, Laurie Johnson, Tiffany Maher, Tony Bellissimo, Lance Guillermo and faculty from Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. Sloane entered the competition circuit and received honors such as the title of Miss Believe National Talent Competition and numerous scholarships to attend conventions such as Power Pak and Tremaine Dance Convention. She then went on to become a youth company member of The Lady Hoofers, an all-female tap company based in Philadelphia, and received opportunities to dance in their first company. Miss Horton continued her dance training at The University of The Arts in Center City Philadelphia under the training of professionals such as Michael Sheridan, Katie Swords-Thurman and Donald T. Lunsford. Sloane currently studies Business and Marketing at Temple University and continues her dance training and teaching in the Tri-State Area.

Julia Lane

Julia is originally from Holden, Massachusetts where she trained at Paula Zawalich Dance Academy and Rhythm Dance Company in all styles of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, modern, lyrical and hip hop. Julia ?also ? studied with Urbanity Dance Company in Boston, Massachusetts for several years as an apprentice where she trained alongside some of the most respected professional dancers in Massachusetts. She has performed with the United States Dance Team and has attended several national conventions to expand her training. Julia has been teaching and choreographing recreational and competitive routines for 4 years and is excited to bring her high energy level and love for dance to the classroom. Julia is currently studying at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Megan McDermott

Megan is a 2015 graduate of Montclair State University with a BFA in Dance. She also trained at the Somerset County Vo-Tech in the gifted and talented dance program. Megan has danced professionally with Clair Porter.

Megan teaches Dance Factory Modern, Lyrical, and Contemporary classes, as well as our Young Dancer through Advanced Jazz and Tap classes. Megan co-directs The Dance Factory Summer Tour Teams and choreographs many memorable routines that are showcased at venues around the community including the Somerset Patriots' baseball pre-game activities. She has been assisting and/or teaching pre-school dance classes and summer camps for over 9 years.

Jj Montell

Jermaine (Jj) Montell has been a successful professional actor and dancer for over 20 years. He began his career in Los Angeles, where after a stint in several national commercials for Gap, Coca Cola, Sprite, Burger King and Honda, he toured and traveled the world dancing with the likes of artist such as Toni Braxton, Brandy, Tevin Campbell, Brian McKnight and Will Smith, among others.
Jj made the leap into the silver screen, garnering small roles as an actor and dancer in such films as "Sister Act 2", "Clueless”, "Friends with Benefits ", "Bolden" and the Netflix original series "The Get Down". He has also been given more prominent roles in feature films including “No Easy Way”, "Kinfolks”, “Elliot Loves”, "Party" and more recently "72hrs: A Brooklyn Love Story?". Among his several TV credits are "ER", "Boston Public", “NYPD Blue”, "Sister, Sister", “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “Space: Above and Beyond”. Making his transition to New York City, he was cast in “Radiant Baby”, directed by Tony Award winner George C. Wolf, as well as Disney’s “Finding Nemo: the Musical” with a multiple Tony Award-winning team including composer Robert Lopez and choreographer John Carrafa.

As a hip-hop, street jazz, and modern dance teacher, Jj has worked at studios such as Peridance and Broadway Dance Center. Currently, he teaches weekly at "305Fitness" in NYC.

Jermaine is a member of SAG/AFTRA and AEA. He is a current member of “Open Hydrant”, the first ever equity theater company based in the Bronx

Megan Pfau

Megan, originally from VA, began her training at Barton and Williams School of Dance, Ltd. She went on to pursue a BFA in Dance at George Mason University's School of Dance. Megan was honored to perform the works of Lar Lubovitch, Daniele Ezralow, Kate Skarpetowska, Susan Marshall, and Twyla Tharp. Megan continued to teach dance at her hometown studio and took classes in Washington D.C. and NYC.

Like many dancers, Megan recognized the therapeutic value of self-expression through movement. Megan has a Masters in Creative Arts in Therapy from Drexel University with a concentration in Dance/Movement Therapy. Upon her graduation, she moved to NJ and began teaching at The Dance Factory in 2013. Megan specializes in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, and Tap. She seeks to educate her students not only on technique, but also on effort qualities and developing their own artistry and confidence with self-expression.

Megan is currently developing an inclusion program for children and adolescents with special needs to provide traditional dance classes with the hopes to transition them into the regular classroom setting. Megan believes there are fewer things more beautiful than seeing children with all abilities dance on stage.

Danica Sharpley

Danica has over 12 years of experience teaching dance to students age 3 to adult in all dance genres and experience levels. She has choreographed many routines from solo performances to small ensembles to large scale numbers.

Danica began her dance training at Wendi Sue Porter School of Dance at 8 years old. With a passion for dance, she learned Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern and Hip Hop. She competed in dance competitions and workshops throughout the tri-state area with her first professional experience in 2005 with Rutgers University's African Dance Ensemble under the choreographer Pascal. While attending Montclair State University as a biology major and dance minor, Danica danced at Six Flags Great Adventure and throughout the country with Silver Tree Productions in 2006-2008 in the pop-fusion, "STOMP" type show, "Industrial Movement". Danica joined a local Hip-Hop group, "Fast FWD", and performed in venues throughout the state. In 2010, she became a NJ Nets dancer, performing at NBA basketball games and charity events. Danica also recently performed and danced in a Michael Jackson Charity Tribute Performance in south Jersey.

Danica teaches the Dance Factory Intensive Program, the Dance Factory Showstopper Dance Company, and is the coach of the Dance Factory Elite Performance Company (DFEPC).